Arigatou
by Lolliot
Summary: She had only spent one night with him, but she knew that the joy he had given her must be repaid. SasukexHinata Christmas Oneshot, AU


"Achoo!" I sneezed, covering my hands of course. I looked around the library to see if anyone had noticed. Not a soul was here. I sighed, usually it should have been warm in such a place, but Iruka-sensei—the librarian—had forgotten to light the fire. He had to go on an errand, so he probably wouldn't be back for a while. Again, I sighed, for the fact that I was the only on in the giant library.

Oh, it appears I haven't introduced myself, my name is Hinata. Hinata Hyuga. I am a student at Konoha Private High. It's a rather large school, mostly because it's for wealthy parent's to send their children. Which meant a very large library, but usually people don't go into it two weeks before Christmas.

No, people at my age are usually off planning parties and such. I checked the clock and saw it was almost closing time for the library. Looking at my large pile of books, I frowned. It would have been much easier if I had brought a friend with me. Although, they wouldn't have consented. Kiba hates to read, Shino is quiet and patient, but he was out of town with his family. Neji-nii-san had a girlfriend and would probably have brought her along, she and I were not the most compatible people.

I stacked my books up, they made quite a pile. Eventually, I was able to pick them up, unfortunately, they covered my line of vision. Using the sight at the side of my eyes, I looked for the rack where I could put the first book. I started to walk forward wobbily.

"What the-!"

CRASH!

I bumped into an unknown figure, causing my books to fly over the floor.

"Oh n-no! G-G-Gomenasai," I scurried around on my hands to collect my books. The person, who I assumed was male, grunted in annoyance. I had found all of the books so far, except for one…

I finally caught a glimpse at the person. He had midnight black hair, spiked in the back. His eyes were dark and desolate, a mirror into his being. It was none other than Sasuke Uchiha. It would be a lie to say I wasn't surprised. I hadn't expected him to be here, of all people. See, Sasuke was very popular with the girls, though he was rather quiet. I never really talked to him at all, he definitely hadn't seemed like the book-worm type.

Anyway, back to the present. Soon I realized that he was holding one of my books,

Jane Eyre. I was really worried now, mostly because I didn't want anyone to find out I read those old books. Kiba had laughed a little and joked about it, who knows what Sasuke would do? He probably thinks I'm some freaky nerd girl who spends her Saturday nights reading romances with a huge tub of chocolate ice cream!

"Er, I, um, th-thank you for finding my book, S-Sasuke-san," I quickly took the book back. I started individually tacking the books to their respected shelves. "Phew, that's done," I muttered to myself. Suddenly we heard a clicking noise from the outside, then steps walking away from the library.

"Wh-What was…" I started, then Sasuke ran to the door, jiggling the handle. He muttered some curses to himself.

"It's locked," he growled. My eyes widened, that was a problem, seeing as today was our last day at school until after break.

"L-L-Locked!" I gasped, on the verge of a mental breakdown.

I will skip the details of what we did after that, many an attempt at calling someone without a response and other things that just frustrated us further. After all that we sat down at one of the couches in front of the barren fire. Me, trying to remember how to breathe, he, sitting calmly.

After a few minutes he spoke, " 'My soul began to expand, exult, with the strangest sense of freedom, of triumph, I ever felt. It seemed as if an invisible bond had burst, and that I had struggled out into unhoped-for-liberty.' "

I immediately snapped my head towards him, he had directly quoted Jane Eyre.

"Y-You've read it b-before?" I asked, he nodded. "W-Well, don't take this the wrong

w-way, but I-I didn't think a guy w-would read such a thing. N-Not that I'm saying all men are d-dull or anything! I-It's just that that b-book is kind of, w-well, a romance…I

j-just thought th-that most boys…"

He smirked a little, "Yeah, it was kind of fluffy and girly, but interesting nonetheless."

And so an hour or two, I swear it flew by like minutes, of literary conversation began.

"S-So you like the B-Bronte sisters?" I asked, both of us on the floor near the fireside. Somehow, Sasuke had produced a lighter and produced a flame. I do not ask why he had such a thing.

"Well, they both have a sense of melancholy which I enjoy," he shrugged. I smiled.

"Y-Yes, I mean, look at Emily's work with Wuthering Heights," I pointed out.

"You've got a point there," he nodded, "Only two of the main characters survived that one."

"Erm, yes, it was quite s-sad when Heathcliff d-died," I lowered my eyes. When I looked back up he had a cocked eyebrow.

"You mourned Heathcliff's death?" he smirked, "Not many people liked him. He was quite a dark character."

I blushed, "W-Well, yes, b-but, I believe that he had b-been greatly wronged. T-True, his morals were v-very warped, but, he was still one of my favorite characters."

Sasuke nodded, actually listening.

"I-I mean, Heathcliff was cold and a little aloof, but that really didn't mean that Hindley had to be so cruel to him," I went on, "H-Hindley was brought up with an easy childhood, nobody knows wh-what kind of pain Heathcliff held. I-I think if I ever met someone like him, I-I would never think poorly of him."

Now, Sasuke looked at me with eyes of wonderment. I blushed immediately; perhaps I had talked too much. I was about to apologize when he suddenly leaned closer to me.

"I like Heathcliff too," he whispered gently.

"Sasuke-san," I looked into those dark eyes. Now they were full of something.

Life.

BAM!

The doors suddenly burst open.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji called.

"Nii-san!" I turned abruptly. Neji stood with Iruka-sensei—he was smiling sheepishly.

"Sorry about that, I forgot you guys were in here," he apologized.

And so that glorious night ended, Sasuke did not speak again after that. When I went home that night, I found a flyer in my bag. It said:

**Come one and all!**

**It's Konoha Private High's annual Christmas Party! Held in the school banquet hall on December 24, from 5:00 to 10:00**

**Don't forget to bring your gifts for you classmates then!**

Originally I hadn't planned on giving anyone anything this year, Kiba said he didn't need anything, besides, he wasn't going. Neji-nii-san was spending that day with his girlfriend. But, perhaps I could give something to Sasuke.

I mean, just as a thank you for talking to me! That's all! Ano, usually no one would talk to me, and I really enjoyed his company…

Yes, just as a thank you.

I had created a monster.

I stared in disappointment at the pair of what was supposed to be gloves. They were a very sickly looking maroon and the thread had made it very lumpy-like. Also, the right one had a sixth finger. I sighed, I had spent two weeks on them and they looked like something from Frankenstein.

Of course, Neji-nii-san had lovingly referred to them as mutant paws. Well, there was nothing I could do about them now, so I wrapped them in a small box and headed off for school. Neji-nii-san insisted on driving me but I didn't want to make him late for his girlfriend, so he only wished me luck and drove off.

Eventually, I got to the banquet hall at 5:30, the party was already in full swing. We weren't supposed to exchange gifts until 6:00 so I still had some time. I tried to find a familiar face, but to no avail.

"Oi! Sasuke! Glad you could make it, teme!" Naruto grinned from ear to ear. I turned and saw that Sasuke had indeed arrived.

"Same to you, baka," Sasuke returned. Naruto glared playfully, knowing Sasuke did not mean ill. That was just how they greeted each other.

Strange.

"Ooooooooi, Sasuke-kun!" squealed a pink-haired cheerleader. Sakura hugged Sasuke from behind, "I thought I saw the love of my life."

Sakura was a well-known Sasuke fangirl, who was also a good friend of his.

"Hello, Sakura-san," Sasuke greeted in a monotone. Sakura took on a fake aghast face.

"Oh no, Sasuke-kun, I thought I told you to call me Sakura-chan!" she squealed. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Sakura relinquished her hold on him and took something from her coat. It was a small wrapped box, "I couldn't wait until later to give it to you, so please open it now!"

Sasuke took the present obediently. He slowly undid the wrapping and opened the box.

"Ah," his response to the brown leather gloves, "Arigatou, Sakura-san."

"Kyah! I knew you would like them Sasuke-kun!" Sakura smiled. I felt myself slink back, wanting to melt into the ground and disappear. I looked down at my meager box in disgust. It was such a stupid idea, he probably had forgotten about that night anyway. Before any of the hot tears could fall I rushed outside. I wiped them harshly, trying to put a stopper in them.

I didn't have much of an idea of why I was crying, I just knew I was.

"Oi, if you stay out here too long, you'll catch a cold."

I turned to see none other than Sasuke.

"O-Oh, gomen, I-I just wanted to watch the snow," I covered up quickly. Sasuke didn't change expression, just walked towards me.

"Who's that for?" he pointed to my box. I looked down as my blush came over my face.

"A-Ano, th-th-that is," I fumbled with it for a bit. After a while I took a breath, then shoved it forward, towards him, "M-Merry Christmas Sasuke-san!"

A few minutes went by, then he took the box from me. I didn't look up as I heard the wrapping get torn.

"Oh," he said quietly, taking out the maroon creatures. I finally looked up at him, he looked a bit surprised that I had given him something. Then he looked back at me, "Arigatou, Hinata-chan."

Suddenly he had my hand in his, bringing mine to his lips. Caressing my hand gently with them.

The rest of the night was a blur, I only remember walking back inside with a deep blush. I remember the colors and music. And, I remember, as I walked out of the hall, these words,

"Oi! Sasuke! Why does your glove have six fingers?"

"…Do they?"

The End.


End file.
